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Bachus Seeks Fed, SEC E-Mails in Examination of Lehman Collapse...
Where's the smoking gun? It's somewhere, and I have a feeling someone is going to find it.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aQd.TdqyKqFU
Bachus Seeks Fed, SEC E-Mails in Examination of Lehman Collapse
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By Jesse Westbrook
March 26 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Representative Spencer Bachus wants to review communications between the Federal Reserve and the Securities and Exchange Commission about Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. as he scrutinizes whether the government failed to prevent accounting lapses at the bankrupt investment bank.
Bachus, the top Republican on the House Financial Services Committee, sent a letter yesterday to Lehman bankruptcy examiner Anton Valukas requesting e-mails, phone records and interview notes used to write a 2,200-page report on the firm’s September 2008 collapse. In his March 11 report, Valukas said Lehman misled investors about its financial state by moving billions of dollars of assets off its books at the close of quarters.
Lehman “used accounting gimmicks to hide its debt and mask its insolvency,” Alabama’s Bachus wrote in the letter to Valukas, which was released today. “More disturbing, the examiner’s report also describes what appear to be significant failings on the part of officials” at the SEC and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Lehman filed the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. history after losses on mortgage-backed securities triggered a run by clients. The Wall Street firm’s failure helped freeze global credit markets, forcing the U.S. to provide $700 billion in bailout funds to banks.
Bachus is seeking communications between the Fed, SEC and Treasury Department in preparation for an April 20 Financial Services Committee hearing on Valukas’s findings. Bachus wants to hear testimony from Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, who was president of the New York Fed at the time of Lehman’s collapse, and former SEC Chairman Christopher Cox.
In addition to e-mails and phone records, Bachus also asked Valukas to provide notes, summaries and any exhibits relating to the examiner’s interviews of Geithner, Cox, Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and other government officials.
The Fed and SEC employees were onsite at New York-based Lehman from March 2008 until its September collapse, monitoring its liquidity pool and financial health.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jesse Westbrook in Washington at jwestbrook1@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: March 26, 2010 10:54 EDT
Who unplugged the laptop that the pinkies are being hosted on? Find the plug and plug it in.
Come on... Do they have these pinkies running on a commodore 64 computer?
Maybe they will finally fix the price difference between the commons and preferreds.... Hello... preferreds should be priced higher than commons.....
Some of us have serious money at stake....how about some redundancy...
GO LEHMAN BROTHERS!!!
Lehman Bros likely to challenge parent-to-subsidiary guarantees
http://www.risk.net/risk-magazine/news/1598287/lehman-bros-challenge-parent-subsidiary-guarantees
An apparent guarantee from Lehman Brothers Holding (LBH) to its subsidiaries pledging to undertake their liabilities and obligations might be subject to a challenge from the parent company, say lawyers. If successful, LBH could render billions of dollars worth of claims against the bankrupt estate invalid.
The resolution is not like other guarantees and LBHI is right to view the document with suspicion. Indeed, it is odd the guarantee exists
The pledge, known as the board-resolution guarantee, was drafted on June 9, 2005 and signed by then chief executive Richard Fuld and former board director John Macomber. It appears to guarantee the liabilities of 18 affiliates, including Lehman Brothers International Europe, Lehman Brothers Finance and Lehman Brothers Special Financing. As a result, more than $100 billion worth of claims has been filed by both creditors and subsidiaries citing the resolution in an attempt to get their claims honoured by LBH.
However, some bankruptcy lawyers who spoke to Risk believe the resolution is peculiar, and add it is unusual for a board resolution to function as a guarantee by itself.
"The resolution is not like other guarantees and LBH is right to view the document with suspicion. Indeed, it is odd the guarantee exists. Typically, board resolutions authorise or give permission for guarantees to be issued as opposed to actually operating as a guarantee. This is the profound difference between this resolution and others. It might be ingenuous, but in my experience this is the only time I've seen a guarantee embedded in a corporate resolution," says a bankruptcy lawyer in New York, who represents firms that have cited the resolution in their claims.
According to a high-level source who worked for LBH and is acquainted with the resolution, the document is not a guarantee but gives the power to offer a guarantee. "The existence of this document doesn't necessarily make it a guarantee, but it does give the authority to give guarantees. This might point to the existence of actual guarantee documents, but we don't have the full deck of cards here so we don't know if actual paper guarantees exist. The situation is akin to me having the authority to writing cheques out of my banking account. I have the authority, but that doesn't mean I write cheques," he says.
However, some lawyers believe the intent of the resolution is obvious. "The intent of the document is clear and the entities are clearly specified. What would be the point of drafting this if not to act as a guarantee? If it is not a guarantee, then what is it? The four corners of this document are clear in the intent and I'm sure many counterparties bought it. We are taking the position this operates as a guarantee," says the counsel to a major creditor of LBH, which cited the resolution in its guarantee claim.
According to a 2,200-page report into the causes of the Lehman bankruptcy, released on March 11, the US court-appointed examiner, Anton Valukas, was unable to locate any decision concerning the enforceability of a guarantee contained only in a corporate resolution.
However, the report goes on to suggest creditors might have a strong argument for the validity of the board resolution as a guarantee. "The guarantee resolution appears to satisfy the basic general guarantee requirements of knowledge, acceptance (which can be implied) and consideration, and therefore might be held to create an enforceable general guarantee obligation," the report suggests.
If the guarantee is in fact deemed valid, LBH might instead attempt to litigate individual claims that cite the resolution, say lawyers. The estate could try to claim creditors did not rely on the resolution when transacting with a subsidiary. If LBH can prove a creditor had no knowledge of, and did not rely on, the guarantee when dealing with the subsidiary, the claim can be disallowed.
"The biggest problem for a lot of people is they didn't know about this board resolution and when one interprets the binding nature of the guarantee, you have to follow normal contract law. There will be people who were not aware of this resolution and who will have a tough time trying to prove they accepted the offer of and relied on the guarantee. This is the biggest area of vulnerability at the moment for a lot of creditors," says the bankruptcy lawyer in New York.
The full version of this article will be published in the April issue of Risk magazine.
So undervalued here. Come on... we are half the price of the commons and we get paid before them...lmao.
I faxed mine for all 7 classes that I own. Go Lehman!!!
I'm back.... and still holding. After reading up on the posts for last week I am not clear as to why some folks have decided to sell off. Correct me if I'm wrong we are still waiting on approval by Judge Peck on the BK plan, balance sheet, and the disclosure. Is that a correct statement? If so, I will continue to hold.
Please point out anything that I have missed as I just got back in the US and trying to obtain as much information as possible.
Nice fill...
Lack of consistency in Lehman valuations... No one, and I mean no one knows the true value yet... we could be sitting on a treasure chest. An additional 50 freakin billion would change this game considerably.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/78077b94-2fa1-11df-9153-00144feabdc0.html?referrer_id=yahoofinance&ft_ref=yahoo1&segid=03058&nclick_check=1
While the most damning parts of the report recount how the bank took $50bn of assets off the balance sheet at quarter’s end in an exercise in window dressing, the report also highlights valuation processes that are troubling as well.
Thanks for all you do Troy... Go spend some time with the new little one :)
Lehman Brothers document release held up in US courts...
Underlying documents on the way April 1st.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/industry-sectors/lehman-brothers-document-release-held-up-in-us-courts/story-e6frg96f-1225840726939?from=marketwatch_rss
Now legal sources say that there is more to come with the publication of the millions of pages of Lehman emails, internal company files and documentary evidence from third parties that formed the basis of the report.
A court hearing will take place, possibly as soon as April 1, in which the examiner's team is expected to argue for the release of these "underlying documents".
I think the ridiculous collateral requirements from these companies will display how Lehman was taken down. How could a distressed company survive when these companies continue to increase the collateral requirements.
Was it intentional...absolutely.
FYI-- WaMu, JPMorgan Agree to $6 Billion Settlement
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202446186977
Video: Report of Lehman Brothers Accounting Details Billions Shuffled and Hidden
I say we go on a treasure hunt next week to find those hidden billions :P
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2785744/video_report_of_lehman_brothers_accounting.html
Nothing has changed for me... Just waiting for the reorg plan...
Go Lehman Brothers!!!
Sorry, but I disagree regarding all the bad news has been priced in already. I don't think any of the news has been priced in as today's news was under seal.
I don't really consider cooking the books a big impact to the PPS. I bet all of the Financial companies have cooked their books one time or another, but we are not looking into that issue.
Holding until the reorg plan. Not giving a share away until then.
There are too many things outstanding that can fuel the fire.
MMs are a joke. They don't let any trades of the other classes take place until they get a feel of the commons.
Reuters Research Report posted on March 8th 2010
https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B_expvW81WHpZDVkNGY0OWMtYTA2Ny00Y2JiLTg0NDQtZjk1NDU0ZWI4NDY0&hl=en
Do you feel good about your decision? If so, that is all that matters. Best of luck to you.
LEHPQ get them now at 5.25... WAMPQ hit a high of 107 per share today.
1000.00 face value
we are way undervalued right now. best of luck.
LEHMAN BROS HLDGS up 30% in Frankfurt
(Frankfurt: LEM.F)
Last Trade: 0.1450
Trade Time: 8:33AM ET
Change: Up 0.0320 (28.32%)
Prev Close: 0.113
Open: 0.10
Bid: 0.1440
Ask: 0.1480
1y Target Est: N/A
Day's Range: 0.0980 - 0.1640
52wk Range: 0.023 - 0.217
Volume: 7,959,528
Avg Vol (3m): 1,211,330
Market Cap: N/A
P/E (ttm): N/A
EPS (ttm): N/A
Div & Yield: N/A (N/A
It's time for the resurrection of Lehman Brothers.
GO LEHMAN BROTHERS!!! It's time to resurrect.
they are sure fiddling with the b/a early this morning. I see them making adjustments back and forth. LMAO!!! We should see a sign of what is on the horizon today...
GO LEHMAN BROTHERS!!! It's time to resurrect.
7470 3/8/2010 Statement / Debtors Statement in Support of Examiners Motion to Establish Procedures to Unseal the Examiners Report (related document(s)[7026]) filed by Harvey R. Miller on behalf of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.. with hearing to be held on 3/11/2010 at 02:00 PM at Courtroom 601 (JMP) (Miller, Harvey)
Debtor: Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.
Related: 7026
GAPPER!!!
I have a feeling that they are going to pop both of them at the same time.
Parlay Baby!!!
Agree. New highs coming this week. Based on the large buys I watched go through on Friday we should fly next week. The real money is in the CTs and preferreds.
shhhhhhhh...:P I'm still loading more at these levels.
Just playin... you guys buy all you want.
Best of luck...
Absolutely, there was already a leak that the feds got paid before anyone else. They don't want those details and others to be disclosed to the public.
I'm going to go crazy... I booked a vacation for the family out of the country between March 14-21 and of course all of the action will take place during that time. I sure hope I can access I-HUB and the market from my laptop in this third world country :P
Personally, I have put all of the other issues to the side and I am focusing on the BK exit plan on March 15th. All of the issues can be addressed afterwards, but lets see a good solid plan to make the company profitable.
I understand there are a lot of outstanding issues, but they would be the frosting on the cake if we have a good solid plan.
Also, those issues might or might not take time to flush out
I agree... We all know Barclays and JPM hands have blood on them, but lets see what they have disclosed. They are going to try to pull an OJ like they have been doing with other companies. Whether we see or not Honorable Judge Peck will make the final decision for Lehman.
Anything with Lehman + Billions I like to read :P
Hope it's good news.
wow, 1,000,000 share trade @ .1108